Boulevard of Broken Dreams
by Agent Gibbs
Summary: A man and a woman walk into a bar. One had a date that showed up late, with a date; the other's date never showed up. Another time, Another place. Green Day Songfic. T because I'm paranoid. REVIEWS WELCOME
1. A Lonely Road

Tony DiNozzo's luck couldn't get any worse. First, his date was over an hour late. To make it even worse, his date **_brought_** a date when she finally showed up.

"EJ, you two have fun," Tony said, walking out of the restaurant. '_Un-_**freakin'**_-believable_,' he thought bitterly. '_My date _**brings**_ a date, and then she expects me to go along with it. No way._'

He got in his car and headed for his apartment. When he got there, however, he realized that he didn't want to be cooped up all night.

"2130," he said to himself, checking his watch. "It may be Friday, but the night's still young." He got out of his car and just started walking.

"_I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known. Don't know where it goes, but it's home to me and I walk alone._"

He figured that he'd been walking for about an hour when he finally looked somewhere other than at the ground. On his right was an entire line of bars and all-night diners. To his left was a row of small shops.

The street was deserted, and the sidewalk was nearly so, save for the occasional hooker, hobo or drug dealer. Whenever Tony was approached by one of these people, he needed only flash his badge and his SIG, and they would back off. Halfway down the street, he started kicking a can, just thinking.

"_I walk this empty street on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams, where the city sleeps. And I'm the only one and I walk alone. I walk alone. I walk alone. I walk alone. I walk alone."_

Tony's thoughts began frustrating him, and he kicked that can so hard that it hit a hobo in the forehead. Tony sat down on a bench, trying to ease his thoughts.

Completely unaware that he was being watched, he looked to the sky and said, "Hey, God. This is Anthony DiNozzo. I know that we haven't talked for awhile, but I need to get this off my chest. I'm sick of all these disgusting, meaningless dates, just one after another. Would it be **_too much to ask_** for You to point me to the right woman **_just once_**?" The wind kicked up a little bit. "That's what I thought. Thanks a lot."

"_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me. My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating. Sometimes, I wish someone out there will find me. 'Till then, I walk alone._"

He got up from the bench and walked across the street into one of the bars.

"What're you drinking?" The bartender asked as soon as Tony grabbed a seat at the bar.

"Bud Light," Tony said, as a woman entered the bar and sat down next to him.


	2. Read Between The Lines

_**A/N: I dialed back the clock half an hour for the start of this chapter. Just so it would make sense.**_

Ziva David pulled her knife out of the wall by her door. Her frustration was showing because her date stood her up, AGAIN. She changed into something more comfortable and went for a walk.

"_I'm walking down the line that divides me somewhere in my mind, on the borderline of the edge and where I walk alone._"

After half an hour, she called the guy she was **_supposed_** to be on a date with.

"_Hello?_" Her date answered arrogantly. "_Who is calling?_"

"You know exactly who this is, Ray!" Ziva snapped. "You better have a great excuse for no-showing our date!"

"_That was tonight?_"

"Yes, that was tonight. You... What was that?"

"_What was what?_"

"I just heard another woman's voice on your end."

"_Um..._"

"Bastard. We are done!" Ziva started spouting off random profanity in Hebrew and snapped her phone shut.

The people on the sidewalk near Ziva began speeding off in the opposite direction. Out of frustration, she picked up a rock off the ground and threw it, hitting a hobo in the back as a can hit the same hobo in the forehead. She caught a glimpse of the man that kicked the can. She figured that it must be him because he was the only person on the street (other than her) that had the mental capacity to do it.

Even from as far away as she was, Ziva could still see the man's eyes. Green, hollow, and empty. She knew from her Mossad training that the eyes were the windows to the soul. Ziva could see that the man's soul was hurting. She felt pity for him, but she was feeling something else as well. Ziva David was falling in love with Anthony DiNozzo.

"_Read between the lines of what's fucked up and everything's alright. Check my vital signs to know I'm still alive and I walk alone. I walk alone. I walk alone. I walk alone. I walk alone."_

She moved toward Tony, who had just sat down on a bench. She stopped and watched as he turned his head to the sky, listening to what he was saying.

"Hey, God. This is Anthony DiNozzo. I know that we haven't talked for awhile, but I need to get this off my chest. I'm sick of all these disgusting, meaningless dates, just one after another. Would it be **_too much to ask_** for You to point me to the right woman **_just once_**?" The wind kicked up a little bit. "That's what I thought. Thanks a lot."

"_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me. My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating. Sometimes, I wish someone out there will find me. 'Till then, I walk alone._"

Ziva looked to the sky when Tony got up and went into a bar. "What he said," she joked, but at the same time, she was serious.

She kicked what she thought was someone's wallet with her foot. Upon further inspection, she discovered that the 'wallet' was, in fact, Tony's NCIS I.D. She picked it up and followed him into his bar of choice.

_"I walk alone. I walk alone."_


	3. Where The City Sleeps

The first sound that Ziva heard upon entering the bar was the end of the first verse of the Kid Rock song _Picture_. She wanted to shoot the jukebox, but she knew that if she did, it wouldn't be damage that she could charge to Mossad.

She spotted Tony sitting at the bar and grabbed the seat next to him. He saw her out of the corner of his eye and turned his head, smiling his goofy smile.

Ziva returned the smile, saying, "I believe that you dropped this outside." She handed Tony his I.D., and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks," he said. "If I lost this, my boss would kill me." He changed the subject. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"I would like that," Ziva replied.

"What are you drinking?"

Ziva nodded toward Tony's empty Bud Light. "And a shot of tequila."

Tony nodded. "Alright. Bartender, two more Bud Lights and a shot of tequila." The bartender nodded, and Tony turned back to Ziva. "By the way, I'm Tony DiNozzo." He extended his hand.

"_Shalom_, Tony DiNozzo. I'm Ziva David." She extended her hand, and Tony kissed it. Sort of old school, but effective.

"Israeli?" He asked, causing Ziva to laugh.

"You know I am Israeli from kissing my hand?" She downed the shot of tequila like it was nothing.

Tony's face was turning red. "No. The accent gave you away." He elaborated at the look on Ziva's face. "When I was in college, I dated an Israeli girl for a semester. It didn't work out though."

"So, what brought you here tonight?"

"No idea. I was supposed to be on a date, but she showed up an hour late, **_with a date_**. I went home, parked my car and just started walking. You?"

"Almost the same. My date never even showed up. And when I called to find out why, the reason was another woman."

"That's rough. But, hey, there are some good guys out there. Don't let one bad experience taint your memory."

"I could say the same to you, yes?"

"Oh, yeah. I'll admit right now that I've had quite a few bad experiences."

Tony and Ziva started talking more. They both discovered what the other one did for a living; Tony was surprised to learn that Ziva worked for Mossad. They talked about music, cars, and their personal lives. Family never came up. And then the subject of age did.

"Wait," Tony said. "You're **_how old_**?"

Ziva laughed at Tony's response. "Twenty-two."

Tony got off his stool and used it for a walker. "I'm thirty-one. Thanks for making me feel like an old man."

When Tony sat down, Ziva continued. "Well, it may just be the tequila talking, but I think that you are **_cute_**." She whispered the last three words in Tony's ear.

Tony's smile was getting brighter. "And you, Miss David, are drop-dead gorgeous." Tony ordered another beer, while thinking, '_If only Ziva could know how badly I want to kiss her right now._'

"Your eyes betray you," Ziva said. "You want to kiss me, Tony."

"Yeah. I do."

"Are you waiting for-" Ziva was cut off when Tony kissed her. She kissed him back.

"Alright," the bartender said. "I'm calling your tab."

Tony and Ziva broke apart. "Beg pardon?" Tony said.

"That little show of yours just cost me customers. I had my bouncer call you a cab, and I knocked $5 off of your bill because you're a cop. But you still owe me $35."

Tony took $40 out of his wallet. "Keep the change." He pulled a business card out of his wallet and wrote something on the back. "If you ever wanna talk," he said, handing the card to Ziva. "Home, cell and address are on the back."

"_Toda_," Ziva replied. Tony smiled, following Ziva out of the bar. Ziva got in the cab. "Are you coming?" She asked Tony.

"Nah. I think I'm gonna walk. See ya." He kissed Ziva again and started walking home.

"_Shalom_, Tony." The cab pulled away from the bar, and Ziva was watching Tony from the rear window.

"_I walk this empty street on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams, where the city sleeps. And I'm the only one and I walk alone._"


	4. Till Then I Walk Alone

Tony got back to his apartment and checked his watch. Midnight. He hadn't been kicked out of a bar before midnight since college.

He couldn't get Ziva out of his head. There was a feeling bubbling in his stomach; he was in love. He had never felt this way before. "What the hell is wrong with me?" He asked himself. His cell started ringing. "DiNozzo."

"_Hey._"

"Ziva. This is a bit of a surprise."

"_I have another surprise for you._"

"What would that be?"

"_Open your door._"

Tony moved to his door. "I can see you through the peephole. And for the record, I'm looking down your shirt." Tony opened the door and saw Ziva was smiling. Click.

"Surprise. May I come in?"

"Yeah, of course." Ziva stepped under Tony's outstretched arm and into his apartment.

"This is a nice apartment," she said.

"Thanks," Tony replied. "Have you eaten yet?"

"No. Why? Did you have something in mind?"

"Maybe. But it's gonna take a few minutes. So make yourself comfortable, and I'm gonna get started." Ziva sat down on Tony's couch, and Tony started cooking.

After several angry, profanity-filled Italian outbursts (Which caused Ziva to start laughing), Tony finally threw together his grandmother's _pasta puttanesca_.

Tony stuck his head into the living room. "Food's ready," he said calmly.

Ziva got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen, still smiling because of Tony's outbursts. Tony didn't know it, but Ziva could understand every word that he said; none of it was pleasant, but it didn't keep her from laughing.

Tony didn't even hear Ziva when she hit the kitchen. He just turned around, and there she was. And she was laughing.

"What's so funny?" Tony asked.

"I understood what you were saying," Ziva replied.

"I should probably apologize." Tony laughed at himself, with good reason.

Ziva shook her head as she sat down. "There is no need. I have heard worse... from my father."

Tony started laughing as well. "Sounds like a nice family," he joked.

Ziva nodded. "There used to be moments where I would hope that I had a normal family that was looking for me."

Tony smiled again. "I know how you feel. There's days where I just want to get away, and then there's days for Rule Number 8."

"Rule Number 8?" Ziva repeated, confused.

"My boss has this list of Rules. Number 8 is 'Never take anything for granted.' That's only one of about 50."

"So what was today?"

"What?"

"Was today one of those Rule 8 Days, or was it one of those days where you want to get away?"

"A little of both."

"Which is it right now?"

"I'm not sure. I'll tell you tomorrow, but it's looking good so far."

Look good, it did. After a lengthy late-night dinner, Tony and Ziva stayed up until the crack of dawn, just talking. One thing was for sure: Even though they had only known each other for a few hours, Tony and Ziva had fallen in love. When Tony went to work Monday, everybody could tell.

Sometimes, the Boulevard of Broken Dreams made a right turn into paradise.

"_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me. My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating. Sometimes, I wish someone out there will find me. 'Till then, I walk alone._"

_**Sequel is coming. I can only promise that it will be a "Burn Notice" Crossover, picking up where Tony goes into work after the weekend.**_


End file.
